What are my rights with faulty goods?

What are my rights with faulty goods?

This consumer tip is about faulty products and outlines the course of action if you have experienced faulty goods after a purchase.

Dean Dunham was asked about your consumer rights when it comes to faulty goods, in particular, faulty goods which were not the fault of the consumer who bought the item.

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 says that if you have purchased a product which is or has become faulty in the first 6 months after purchase, then the retailer must inspect the product to deem whether or not it was the consumer that caused the fault or not. If the retailer cannot prove that a faulty product was caused by a consumer, then the consumer will be entitled to an exchange, repair or a refund.

Dean says:

“For the first 6 months after purchase, if something goes wrong it’s for them [the retailer] to prove that the product is faulty because of the consumer and not because of an inherent default or fault with the product.”

What to do next:

If you have experienced a faulty product that is beyond repair and needs replacing, then you need to go to the retailer in writing and say that under The Consumer Rights Act 2015 you want your goods replacing or repaired. If the retailer refuses to replace or repair the product, then the retailer will have to prove that you [the consumer] has caused the fault. If they cannot prove that you caused the fault, then you are entitled to a repair, a replacement or even a refund.

You can listen to Dean’s latest consumer tip by clicking the link below:

"We are an independent 'not for profit' and impartial organisation that specialises in resolving consumer disputes"

As of July 2017, Consumer Dispute Resolution Limited (“CDRL”) has resigned its membership with Ombudsman Association. CDRL operates four alternative dispute resolution schemes:

The Retail Ombudsman

AviationADR

UtilitiesADR

CommsADR

CDRL had aspirations to expand its ADR offering, under The Retail Ombudsman brand into sectors beyond high street and online retail. However, last year Ombudsman Association introduced a rule that it would only allow one ‘ombudsman’ scheme per sector which meant that CDRL would not be able to continue its expansion plans as an ombudsman. Naturally, CDRL had to respect this decision.

At the start of 2017 CDRL started the process of launching UtilitiesADR and CommsADR as non-ombudsman schemes. CDRL’s aviation scheme, approved by the Civil Aviation Authority, was then transitioned to a non-ombudsman scheme. The final step has been to transition the retail scheme, which has now been finalised and as part of this the scheme name has been changed from The Retail Ombudsman to RetailADR.

The Retail Ombudsman scheme has been a very big success and has attracted many big High Street and online brands as members. All these brands have agreed to continue to work with RetailADR, in recognition of the efficient, cost effective ADR service it provides.

The decision to transition from ombudsman to non-ombudsman has been taken entirely by CDRL and has been made to allow the continued growth of our very successful ADR model, which has benefited and will continue to benefit both consumers and traders. Government therefore did not withdraw CDRL’s right to use the ‘ombudsman’ title and the relevant competent authorities, that authorise CDRL under The Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Amendment) Regulations 2015 have been supportive of the transition.

For more Information or to submit a new claim please visit our website:www.cdrl.org.uk

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